Hip Flexor Injury

Hip flexor injury occurs as a result of vigorous movements of the hip flexor joint. The hip flexor consists of three sets of muscles that work together to make the hip joint movable and also adds strength to lower part of the body. These muscles are under a lot of stress while performing activities like running or kicking ball. Any kind of strain or pull to these muscles gives rise to hip pain and the motion of the hip joints get affected. Hip flexor injuries can be categorized into three different types. The type 1 injury is the least severe form and is caused when there is a minor tear or strain in the hip muscles or tendon. The type 2 injury is caused when the muscles are partially torn, and it is very painful. The most severe is the third category where the muscles are ruptured completely. This is quite a rare form of hip flexor injury.

Causes
The main cause of hip flexor injury is damage caused to the muscles by some physical trauma. It can happen after a bad fall, or after kicking a ball while playing soccer, or after sudden fast running. When the muscles are in a taut and inflexible condition, then only they are prone to this kind of injury. In such a condition, large amounts of pressure is exerted on the muscle tissues during physical activities and causes injury. If there is injury or weakness in lower abdominal muscles of the body, hip flexor strain may occur when the muscle of hip flexor tries to compensate for that. Under general weakness in the body, these muscles tend to get overworked and as a result, are susceptible to injury.

Symptoms
Symptoms depends on the severity of the injury. The first sign is the onset of sudden intense pain. It is felt in the front part of the thigh near the groin area. Later on, the pain may extend downwards. This pain, at the front of the leg, gets aggravated with movements of the legs, particularly in the forward or upward direction. As a result, you will not be able to run or jump. Sometimes, normal walking also becomes painful. In some cases, it has been found that pain is accompanied by swelling and bruising.

Treatment
The injury is diagnosed with the help of physical examination of the injury site, history of the patents activities and x-ray. Application of ice pack, oral intake of pain killers and rest are advised for the pain management. To ease off the pressure from the injured hip area while sleeping, keep a pillow in between the legs. Recovery time is the least in case of a minor injury, though for a partial tear of the muscle, a few weeks of rest is a must. For a breakage in the muscle, complete rest for a longer period of time, may be some months, along with regular physical therapy is required. Once the pain subsides, steps are taken to improve the strength and flexibility of the hip flexor muscles. Hip flexor exercises are highly beneficial for this purpose. These exercises involves simple stretching of the hip muscles and joints. It is recommended that these exercises are done everyday and under the supervision of an instructor. This will speed up the healing process, and at the same time, restore the normal functioning of the hip flexor.

When you get hip flexor injury, it is a must that you do not try to return to usual sports activities very soon. If the injury is not properly healed then it can make the hip injury, a chronic pain problem. Once the strength, mobility flexibility and body balance is normalized, then only you can resume your sporting activities. A good warm up before any sports activities can bring down the tension of the muscles, and as a result it will be less prone to injury. Therefore, make a habit of doing warm up exercises before playing any sports.